Device for indicating the movement of vehicles.



E. F. MARKS. DEVICE FOR INDICATING THE MOVEMENT 0F VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5, I913- I Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

I aftocneq TED STATES Y rue,

EDWARD F. MAKES, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

Application filed November .6, 1913. Serial No. 799,607.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. MAnRs, citizen of the United States, residing .at San Diego. in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Indicating the Movement of Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to an improved device in the nature of a direction indicator, the same being particularly adapted for use in connection with motor and other vehicles,

to indicate or signal pedestrians as well as approaching'or following vehicles the direction the driver intends to turn the car when passing. I

An object of the invention contemplates the provision of means includinga pair of indicators, disposed preferably, one near the forward and the other near the rear end of the vehicle, the said indicators being oper-' ated simultaneously and at the option of the driver, to indicate as above set forth the direction of travel to be taken, the device being so constructed, that it may be applied to autt mobiles and other vehicles without changing or'modifying the structure thereof to any material extent.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by sucl. means as are illustrated in their preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application.

In describing my invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure l is a top plan view illustrating the application of the invention to a motor vehicle of ordinary construction; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a device as illustrated in Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevaapplication in connection ith automobiles,

thesame may be readily utilized or em-.

ployed in connection with various other vehicles of the road running type.

Referring now to the drawings wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention the numeral 1 designates an automobile having the usual wind shield 2, filler plug 3 and steering wheel 4 associated therewith. Detachably secured to the plug 3 through the medium of a clamp 5 and a thumb nut 6, I provide a substantially rectangular bracket 7, within one .of the extensions 8 of which a vertically disposed shaft 9 is journaled. Fixedly secured to the said shaft 9 and movable therewith, I provide a hand indicator 10, the indicating point of which is normally in a plane parallel with the longitudinal axis of the automobile. The opposite end of the said shaft 9 is j.our naled in an enlargement ll of the said bracket 7 at the base thereof adjacent which point,-and mounted for rotation upon the which is journaled within an upright por-' tion 15 of the bracket 7 and the opposite end in the windshield 2 at the base thereof, the said shaft being divided intermediateits ends at a point adjacent the wind shield; means in the nature of a sleeve 16 being provided as a. coupling for the shaft section, to provide, when uncoupled, for the raising of the hood of the automobile, this being effected by loosening the thumb nut 6 and turning the bracket, the indicator and a portion of the shaft 14 out of a plane parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A handle 17 is mounted upon the said operating shaft 14 at a point adjacent the steering wheel 4 at the rear of the wind shield 2, the manipulation of which will actuate the indicator 10 in a manner to be hereinafter fully from that upon which the pinion 22 is,

mounted, the former meshing into a similar pinion 26 carried by a suitable shaft 27 journaled within bearings 28 supported by the car body at the rear end thereof, the said shaft 27 extending in parallel relation with the shaft 20 above referred to. Upon the opposite end of the shaft 27 a second beveled pinion 29'is mounted, thelatter being disposed for engagementwith ai like pinionI mounted upon a vertically extending shaft 31 in duplicate of the shaft 9, the said shaft having an indicator hand 32 fixedly secured thereto, which, with the indicator hand 10 previously referred to, is adapted to indicate to an approaching or following vehicle, the direction in which the driver intends to turn'the car. A bracket 33 is provided for the mounting of the shaft 31, the sa dbracket being the same (or substantialiy so) in construction as the bracket 7, the support however being provided for, by the arrangement of a stud 34 fixedly secured in any suitable manner to the body of the vehicle at a point adjacent the rear end thereof. A suitable clamp 35 and thumb nut 36 may be provided .for supporting the bracket 33 upon the said stud.

When it is desired that the shaft 1 1 (or the major portion thereof) be swung at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the machine to provide for an opening of the hood, shaft 23 is first bodily moved forwardly until pinion22 is out of mesh with pinion 22. Shaft 20' is next bodily moved until pinion 19 is out of mesh with pinion 18, in which event the inner section of shaft 1a may be bodily moved until the outer section 14 of the said shaft is free from engagement with the sleeve 16. The sleeve 16 and the outer section 14 of the shaft being disengaged, thumb nut 6 is manipulated to loose the clamp, in which event, the clamp, the bracket 7 and the outer-section of the shaft 14 maybe bodily moved at a right angle to its normal position whereby to permit unobstructed opening of the hood. 7

A bracket 7 is hi'ngedly connected to its supporting clamp 5 for the obvious purpose of swinging said bracket out of aline'mcnt with the clamp when it is desired that provision be made for an unobstructed opening of the hood without necessitating-a manipulatitn of the thumb screw 6.

Havingdescribed fully the construction of the device, it now remains to set forth a little more in detail the operation thereof.

lhe driver of the vehicle, upon noticing the approach of a second vehicle, will, by the manipulation of the handle :17 simultaneously actuate the indicating hands 10 and 32 te'convey to the driver of the second car an idea as to Which direction he, the first driver, will turn the car when passing. By actuating the said handle 17, the operating like movement to the indicator hand 10 as well as the hand 32, the movement of the former being effected through the operation of the pinion l3, pinion 12 and shaft 9, and the operation of the latter by the move ment of the shafts 20, 23 and 27 and thegears or pinions carried thereby, taken in connection with the movement of the vertical shaft 31 and the pinion thereon.

From the above, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be noted that the'hood of the automobile may be raised'by uncoupling the sections of which the operating shaft 14 is composed and swinging one of the said sections with the shaft 14: is partially rotated for imparting a i 30 mounted 'bracket 7 and clam 5 at a right angle to its 7 normal position, this being made possible by the detachable mounting of thesaid clamp 5 effected by the thumb nut 6 provided there-- for; and that the indicator is entirely controlled by the manipulation of the handle 17, the latter being disposed at a convenient point with respect to the seat of the driver. In reduction to practice, I have found that the form ofmy invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is the most efiicient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary,

I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and- Letters Patent, is

1. In an attachment for vehicles, a detachable clamp secured to the vehicle at the forward end thereof, support means movably connected to the saidv clamp, said sup port means being normally disposed directly over the hood of the vehicle, ashaft journaled within said support means, an indicator carried by said shaft, an operating shaft 'journaled within said support means, said operating shaft beingjournaled at its opposite end in a bearing adjabent the drivers seat, said operating shaft beingdivided-intel-mediate its ends to form sections, one of desire to secure by- I the said shaft sections terminating in a sleeve like enlargement arranged to embrace theother of the shaft secti'onsone of said shaft sections being -slidable within its hearing to permit detachment ofsaid shaft sections, sale. support means with one of said shaft sections being movable with the indicator relatively to the clamp and to the hood to permit opening of the latter when ale-- sired as and for the purpose set forth.

2. n an attachment for vehicles, support means for an indicator mounted on the vehicle directly over the hood, a sectional operating shaft for moving the indicator, said shaft being journaled at one end in said support means and at its opposite end in a bean ing disposed adjacent the drivers seat, one of the shaft sections being slidable relatively to its bearing, a sleeve-like enlargemerit formed upon the slidable shaft section into which the other of the said shaft sections is fitted, said shaft sections when disengaged permitting pivotal movement of the support means laterally of the hood to provide for an opening thereof, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I af x my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD F. MARRS. Witnesses:

H. E. ANTHONY, O. AUsRAn. 

